


The Glorious Weirdo with a Box

by eDawg



Category: Doctor Who, Ghostbusters (2016)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-29
Updated: 2016-09-09
Packaged: 2018-08-11 18:35:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7903330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eDawg/pseuds/eDawg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one in which Jillian Holtzmann is the Doctor but does not remember. The only person who knows is Abby Yates. But the Doctor is unable to stay out of trouble even as a 'human'. I got this idea from episodes 8 and 9 season three plus the wonderful character of Holtz.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Come Here Often?

Holtzmann looked like a blind man, who had stumbled into a thrift shop had dressed her. She had on a pair of purple overalls that had a paint splatter pattern. Their legs were rolled up to show the wacky sox she was wearing over which she had on black boots. The overalls were over a crop top. And around her neck she had on a necklace that was a a ‘U’ in a circle with a screw going through it. Her wild blond hair swoop over the scarf she had in her hair like a headband. It had a messy quality about it, it looked haphazard but it had probably taken her upwards of thirty minutes to get it to look like it did. And she was wearing her trademark yellow goggles. On her hands she had red leather bicycle gloves.   
Yep Holtz dressed like a mad women. 

Abby Yates never stopped wondering how Holtz never had an accident and got her clothes suck in something or set them on fire. To the untrained eye Holtz was a disaster in the lab. But Abby knew that there was in fact a method to her madness, if most of the time she could not see it. Holtz always knew exactly what she was doing but sometimes it was not until she was done that anyone could even begin to understand. She had about a million thoughts per second and it was not possible to keep up, it was better to just let her get to the end of her thought process before even trying to catch up, or even ask a question. 

There was something else about Holtz, she was a timelord. And the universe knew her as the Doctor. Abby also knew her as the Doctor but she kept it to herself. No one could know. She kept the Doctor’s identity with her at all times. It was kept in a fob watch she kept on her person. One day it would be time to open it, and restore the Doctor but Abby did not know when. When the Doctor changed into a human she had winked at Abby and reassured her she'd know when the time came. It was a heavy burden to carry not only the Doctor’s identity but her full trust as well. But Abby did her best to keep going and to not think that much about the day she’d ‘just know’ it was time to open the fob watch.

“It’s resplendent, it is beautiful and powerful and super sexy and I am its mama,” said Holtz looking down at the new gadget she had made. Abby looked at it. It didn’t look like much. But Abby had long since learned that Holtz’s gadgets were always more powerful then their looks suggest. The gadget looked rather like a toy. 

“What's it do?” 

“It's a machine that goes ding,” said Holtz. 

“Okay why does it do that?” Abby asked. She was used to these nonspecific answers. Both the doctor and her human identity Jillian Holtzmann gave her vague answers at best.

“It dings so we know that it has detected something, silly,” said Holtz. 

This did not help much to clear up Abby’s question. “What is it detecting?” Abby tried again to get an straight answer out of Holtzmann.

“Who knows until it goes ding.” This was not the answer Abby was looking for, but it seemed that she was not going to get one out of Holtz. 

That's when a ghost from Abby’s past walked into their lab. She looked mad. Like really mad. She held in her hand a book, that Abby knew well. A book she had help write. Erin Gilbert was Jillian Holtzmann’s opposite when it came to the looks department but she still looked ridiculous in her tweed skirt suit and mini bowtie. Erin walked in looking mad, but soon her face turned to udder confusion at the room she had entered. The room was full of weird machinery that Holtzman had made or that Abby had found on ebay.

“Hi Abby?” Erin said looking around. She did not see her old friend at first. Then she saw her. 

“You look good,” Erin said.

“What do you want Erin?” Abby asked. Erin and Abby has not been friends when they had last parted ways, a lot of hurtful thing were said on both sides. 

“I want to know how our book got on Amazon and why I didn't know about it?” Erin asked.

“Oh that? I put it there.”

“Without telling me?!” Erin said loudly. 

“Well I was mad,” Abby said. 

“Can you please take it off, I'm up for tenure and I don't want this to be the first thing they see,” Erin showed Abby a Google page. It had her pitcher and the book right next to it. Before Abby could answer there was a knock on the door. She left to open it knowing it was probably her Chinese takeout. Erin stood in place very awkwardly. 

“Come here often?” came Holtz low sexy voice giving her a two finger salute. At Holtz’s simple words Erin could hear her heart best faster. She had pushed up her thick yellow goggles so Erin could see her sparkling blue eyes. Eyes that had a mischievous gleam in them. Despite her bizarre getup or maybe because it Erin found herself drawn to the woman in front of her. 

“Umm hey my name is Erin, Dr. Erin Gilbert.” 

“I've heard terrible things about you,” Holtz says with a wink. It is the sexist thing Erin has ever seen. 

“Fine I'll take the book down from Amazon, but only until you get tenure,” said Abby coming up from behind Erin. Erin pulls her eyes away from Holtz to look at Abby. Abby set down the take-out food she had ordered. 

“Thank you for understanding…” 

“Under one condition, you help Holtz and me out on one of our experiments,” said Abby. Erin stares at her a moment before realizing that she was serious. She only had to think for a second. 

“Yes I'll do it,” said Erin.

“Booyah emphasis on the boo,” said Dr. Holtzmann pumping her fist in the air. “Lessgo.”

Abby and Holtz start putting their equipment into an old shopping cart. To Erin it looks like a pile of junk. She does not see how any of it does anything useful. But maybe the cliché was true, and the whole really is greater than the sum of its parts. For any of the equipment to actually work it had to be true because the parts were all junk. Still Abby has a PhD and she guess that Holtz does to. She trust for now that despite what it look like these two women in front of them had a plan. 

“Where are we going?” Erin asked.

“Tunnel three,” Abby answered. 

“What is tunnel three?” Erin asked.

“Tunnel three is a tunnel that runs under New York. It is for water. They started construction on it in 1970. From 1970 to 1997 twenty-three people have died in construction related accidents as well as a twelve-year-old boy,” Holtz said. She had an interesting way of talking. There were no phrases just one long stream of words.

“Why we want to go there? That sounds creepy,” Erin asked. 

Both Abby and Holtz looked at her like she was mad. Erin had no idea why. Then it dawned on her of course they had to go to someplace creepy they were studying ghost. While Erin had moved on years ago, and tried her hardest to distance herself from her study of the paranormal so academia would take her seriously, Abby had not. She was still trying to prove with the scientific method that ghost existed. 

“Okay so tunnel three most likely would have paranormal activity, I get it. But how are we getting all of this stuff there?” Erin asked.

Holtz and Abby look at each other. They seem to have a silent conversation.

“We thought that maybe you had a car,” Holtzmann said.

“Why would I have a car I work and lived in New York City,” Erin said.

“Okay new plan. You two stay put and I’ll get us a car,” Holtz said.

“How?” asked Abby.

“It’s not entirely legal so it is best if you don’t know,” said Holtz. 

“Yeah so I have work so I’d love to do this with you. Why don’t I came back at four- thirtyish or so?” said Erin. 

“Fine but come back or I will put our book back up,” Abby said. She was not quite sure she believed that Erin would keep her word and needed something to hold over her head. 

“Don’t worry I’ll be back,” said Erin looking directly at Holtz.


	2. I see a Ghost

Flashback 

 

Abby runs after the Doctor. Which is not an easy task. She might be short boy boy can those legs move. The Doctor snaps her fingers and the TARDIS doors open. Abby had only seen the Doctor do this once before when she had first shown her the blue police box and was trying to impress her. Of course the fact that she had a box that was bigger on the inside, and could travel through space and time already impressed her and doors opening at a snap had very little to do with that. Abby being a physicist had many questions for the Doctor about how precisely time travel worked but the Doctor never really had a straight answer for her so she gave up trying to get how the TARDIS worked. 

Now it was important that she got into the blue box as fast as she could. They were after them, and they would not stop hunting them for as long as they could. Abby felt relieved that she had access to a box that could take her to anyplace and anytime. It made chasing the Doctor and her much harder. The doors now open Abby more or less dives into the TARDIS. Being in the TARDIS always made Abby feel at ease. Nothing could get her in the blue box. It was the safest place in all of time and space. 

“Did they see you?” The Doctor said. She sounded panicked. She was so intense, more intense then normal and in a different way. Something that Abby had never in all of their adventures together was for her act panicked. It scared her.

“I don’t think so?” Abby said flustered. The Doctor turned and took Abby’s face into her hands and looked at her with her eyes that were too old for her face.

“Think Abby, I have to know did they see you,” the Doctor said.

“They couldn’t have,” Said Abby after a moment of consideration running the last couple of minutes in her head. This made the Doctor relax a little. She cared much more about the safety of her companion than about her own safety. Abby took a deep breath when she heard the now familiar groaning sound the TARDIS makes know they were getting away. But her relief did not last long.

“That should not be possible,” The Doctor said. She was staring at one of the screens of the control room of the TARDIS. Her face was all scrunched up with worry. 

“What? What should not be possible?” Abby asked. 

“Um well it looks like they’re following us,”

“But we are in a time machine,” said Abby 

“There is always a way,” said the Doctor. And then more to herself, “I have no choice, I’ll have to do it. There is no other way.” Then the doctor started to go through her things throwing things that she did not want at the time. Finally she found what she was looking for, a fob watch. 

 

Present 

Abby stared at the fob watch in her hand. She wanted so badly to open this. She missed the Doctor so much. Holtzmann was fine, and in a life before the madness with the Doctor they could have been friends. But the Doctor was so much more. They were best friends. It was hard to explain. But Abby knew that now was not the right time to restore the Doctor. Only in a time of dire need would it be time. She knew that much. ‘You will know the right time.’ the Doctor had said. No now was not the right time. Abby put the fob watch back in her pocket just as Holtz is walking back in their lab. 

“Okay I got us a car,” Holtz said. 

“How?” Abby asked. 

“That question should never be asked,” Holtz said. 

“Jillian Middle Name Holtzmann did you steal a car?” Abby asked horrified. This made Holtz laugh. Abby did not find it amusing. 

“You fell for that way too easily Yates,” Said Holtz in a fake stern voice. As if on cue a tall lady who is probably at least six-feet-tall walks into the room.

“This is a friend of mine. Her name is Patty. Her uncle owns a funeral home,” Holtz said in lieu of a proper introduction. Abby stared at Holtz not sure how an uncle owing a funeral home had anything to do with their transportation problem.

“Oh and I forgot the most important thing. She is letting us borrow one of the hearse, pretty cool right?” Holtz said. 

“I don’t know how to answer that question. So I’m going to asked one of my own. How did you two meet?” Abby asked. 

“We meant each other at a bar a couple of weeks ago. We got to talking and I realized we went to highschool together,” Paty said.   
Abby had to restrain herself from staring at her in disbelief. She knew that could not be true. Holtzmann did not exist until three months ago. The human disguise must be a very strong one or maybe memory was very malleable. Maybe both. Just then Erin push the door open and walk in.

“Okay let’s catch some ghost, or whatever you hope to do,” she said.

“Who the hell are you? And what the fuck are you wearing?” Patty asked Erin. 

“My name is Dr. Erin Gilbert. I am a particle physicist at Columbia. And for some crazy reason I agreed to help these weirdos,” said Erin.

“Yeah I think I might be the crazy lending my car to Holtzy. She pretty much is a mad scientist, and I'm not entirely sure that the FBI shouldn’t be after her,” said Patty.

Erin looked over at Holtzmann who had smirk on her lips. She look up to something. Erin had only meant the woman a few hours ago but she had the feeling that Holtz almost always had a smirk on her face like she was up to something. She did not know what that woman was thinking, like at all. It made her nervous. She made a mental note to keep her guard up around Holtz, there was no telling when she might play a practical joke on her. 

“Okay the gang's all here lessgo,” Said Holtz. 

She lead the group out of the lab and around to the back of the building to the curb where the hearse was waiting for them. Erin had a bad feeling about this. Abby who knew that their ride was a hearse still felt uncomfortable with it. 

“Umm there is no dead body in there is there?” Erin asked.

“I wish, I can think of seven uses of a cadaver today,” Said Holtz.

“In other words no,” Abby translated for those who knew Holtz’s sense of humor less well. Then Holtz and Abby got into their ride. Patty looked at Erin. They shared a mutual   
thought. ‘I’ll get in if you get in first.’ They stood there playing a silent game of chicken until Holtz shook her head out of the window.

“Coming?” she asked. 

 

The tunnel was cold. Abby kicked herself for not thinking ahead and wearing something warmer. It was wet too. Lucky Holtz had thought of that. She had stolen boots from the geology department. Something that Abby would not normally condone but right now she was really glad for them. It was also loud. There footsteps were echoing in the tunnel. Holtz took out the ‘Machine that goes ding’ and started to play with it. Abby got out her video camera. She was determined to catch a ghost. 

“What if we really do see a ghost and dangerous?” Erin asked. 

“We run. My ghostbusting tools are not ready yet,” Holtzmann said.

“Really?” asked Patty. 

“Well no I have one, I brought it with us, that's what Erin and you are carrying. But if we use it there is a one in twenty chance that it will blow up the tunnel and we be trapped in here, so let's hope they are nice ghost,” said Holtz. 

“Well that did not make me feel any better,” said Erin. 

“Yeah that sounded better in my head,” said Holtz. Holtz looked down at the ‘Machine that goes ding’. It was going ding. Abby was frozen in place. Then she snapped out of it and started to film. Patty swallowed hard. Erin looked up. There was a boy. But not a regular boy he was transparent. And he floated a few inches above the ground. Which must of meant that he was a ghost. Erin took a deep breath. He looked friendly enough.

**Author's Note:**

> p.s my favorite Doctor is ten.


End file.
